"...The American effort has not been appreciated by Netanyahu, who has become a fellow traveler with hawkish Republicans in Washington. His decision to wade into partisan politics and alienate the Obama administration, said former Mossad chief Meir Dagan earlier this year, "caused Israel the most strategic damage when it comes to the Iranian issue."Israel has spent the better part of a decade working against Iran's nuclear program, campaigning for sanctions and clandestinely attempting to sabotage Iranian projects. But Netanyahu's loud hectoring, Dagan suggested, was pushing Israel toward a situation of military confrontation...." see full article

970 days ago | middletownpressWhy some Israelis believe the Iran deal is good for Israel - Middletown Press"...Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was swift and uncompromising in his criticism, declaring the accord a historic mistake, and reiterating his longstanding opposition to rapprochement with the Islamic Republic. His anger was echoed by his center-left political opponents in the Israeli parliament.But while Israel's politicians may be singing from the same song sheet, others are less sure. A host of prominent members of the country's security establishment have come out at various stages of the negotiations in support of the Obama administration's efforts. Some of these men have been consistently vocal in their opposition to Netanyahu's hard-line rhetoric, which included a controversial speech to the U.S. Congress earlier this year...." see full article

"...That issue is the latest chapter in the long history of tensions and mistrust between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu, who have clashed publicly and privately over the nuclear deal and whose relationship became particularly strained this year after Mr. Netanyahu arranged to address Congress to denounce the pending agreement without first notifying the White House. The idea that somehow Israel would be compensated for this deal in the way the Gulf states would be is rejected by this prime minister as signaling that he is somehow silently acquiescing to it, said David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The negative optic would be, he is being bought off from his principled opposition. He sees any package now as muddying what he sees as the moral clarity of his objection. In Israel, the question was not whether the deal would be followed by a robust new military aid package from Washington, but rather when such discussions would commence and what might be on the shopping list. Isaac Herzog, the leader of the opposition in Parliament, said Tuesday night that he would soon travel to the United States to advance a package of security measures to suit the new situation. ..." see full article

976 days ago | timesofisraelIsrael: Inspection clauses in deal 'worse than worthless,' actually help Iran ... - The Times of Israel"...If Western or Israeli intelligence agencies produce evidence of an Iranian violation at any given undeclared location, inspectors will not be able to conduct surprise visits. Rather, they will be forced to provide Iran the basis for such concerns and request clarification, according to the Vienna agreement.If Iran's explanations do not adequately assuage the IAEA's concerns, the agency may request access to such locations to make sure no illicit activity has occurred there. The IAEA will provide Iran the reasons for access in writing and will make available relevant information, the deal stipulates...." see full article

"...Israeli politicians say the deal won't block Iran from building nuclear weapons. They also say that by easing sanctions, Iran will gain access to tens of billions of dollars, some of which could be funneled to militant anti-Israel groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Israeli leaders say a nuclear Iran is an existential threat to Israel because Iranian leaders have called for Israel's destruction. Not everyone has learned the lessons of history. Today, the world powers have fallen in a trap of smiles set by the tyrannical Iranian regime, Netanyahu said.Netanyahu said he reviewed the deal at night, and that it includes absurd things. He objected to a clause that requires international inspectors who suspect violations of the deal to give Iran 24 days before inspectors can actually enter the site...." see full article

"...This "deal" is Plan A for the annihilation of Israel, annihilation through active offense and by making Israel's defense impossible. If I can see this, so can Mr. Obama... as well as his supporters, including his Jewish supporters who have abandoned Israel and those Jews living in Israel, doing so under cover of the phoniest excuses possible... delivered with self-righteous purported moral platitudes.In life, we make compromises to those we hold in high esteem, to those who hold a place in our hearts, to those we feel merit concessions from us. To Iran, Mr. Obama has made the most earth-shattering compromises in the annals of history. Even Chamberlain did not provide Hitler with a $150 billion to arm-up.Mr. Obama compromised, worse, gave in, totally; surrendering on issues that will assuredly put the world in ultimate danger and enable Iran to forever manipulate, bite, and poison the world. He, evidently, feels an affinity for who they are and what they believe: their Shiite goals. He seems to love calling Mr. Khamenei what he would love being called: The Supreme Leader...." see full article

"...The condemnations are not new. Netanyahu has led a tireless campaign against the prospects of a deal, including an address before the U.S. Congress in March to hammer home Israel's worries over Iran whose leaders often have called for the annihilation of the Jewish state.The rifts with Washington over the Iran talks have led to rare open tensions between the allies.Hours after the deal was reached in Vienna, Secretary of State John F. Kerry told NBC that he thought Netanyahu was wrong and that the prime minister had been making comments that are way over the top. ..." see full article

977 days ago | timeMichael Oren: Why Israel Won't Be Celebrating the Iran Deal - Time - TIME"...For Israelis, though, there is nothing mystifying about this picture. We see an Iranian regime that will deceive inspectors and, in the end, achieve military nuclear capabilities. We see an Iranian nuclear program that, while perhaps temporarily curtailed, will remain capable of eventually producing hundreds of nuclear weapons.This is a picture that we've all seen before. Back in 1994, American negotiators promised a good deal with North Korea. Its nuclear plants were supposed to be frozen and dismantled. International inspectors would carefully monitor North Korea's compliance with the agreement and ensure the country's return to the community of nations. The world, we were told, would be a safer place.It wasn't. North Korea never forfeited its nuclear plants and the inspections proved useless. The community of nations is threatened by North Korean atomic bombs and the world is anything but safe. And yet, against all logic, a very similar deal has been signed with Iran...." see full article

"...The fear is hardly without reason. The lifting of sanctions, which this deal will trigger in the next few years, will certainly enrich Iran. This might embolden the government's expansionist tendencies and its support of militant movements across the Middle East or it might moderate the country's stance, as the population (much of it literate and pro-Western) interacts more with the rest of the world and the reigning mullahs die off. There is some basis for this hope of transformation. How long can the mullahs sustain their cries of Death to America and their claims of Western encirclement the rationale for their oppressive domestic policies when the country's president and foreign minister, clearly with the approval of the supreme leader, are shaking hands and signing deals with the Great Satan's emissaries? Nonetheless, the hope is a gamble, and one can't blame Israelis for refusing to stake too much on its payoff...." see full article

978 days ago | timeMichael Oren: Why Israel Won't Be Celebrating the Iran Deal - TIME"...So why, then, are only Israelis united in opposing this deal? The answer is that we have the most to lose, at least in the short run. We know that the deal allows Iran to break out and create nuclear bombs in as little as three months, too quickly for the world to react. We know that the Ayatollahs, who have secretly constructed fortified nuclear facilities that have no peaceful purpose and have violated all of their international commitments, will break this deal in steps too small to precipitate a powerful global response. And we know that the sanctions, once lifted, cannot be swiftly revived, and that hundreds of billions of dollars Iran will soon receive will not be spent on better roads and schools. That treasure will fund the shedding of blood of Israelis but also of many others.Israelis know that, while the world might weather its deception by North Korea, they cannot afford to be duped by Iran. But neither, in fact, can the United States. Just last week, Iran's President attended a rally in Tehran where tens of thousands of protesters chanted Death to America. The deal will better enable them to carry out that attack if not today, then against future generations. And Iran's Supreme Leader has publicly pledged to do just that...." see full article

978 days ago | commentarymagazineIsrael's Ambassador: 'This Deal is a Disaster' - Commentary Magazine"...The constraints on Iran's nuclear program are only temporary because the most important ones will be removed in a decade. And those constraints will be removed whether or not Iran changes its behavior. In ten years, Iran could be even more aggressive, an even greater sponsor of terror, an even greater threat to Israel and America, and the constraints on Iran's nuclear program would still be removed. In 13 or 14 years, Iran's breakout time would be almost down to zero. Those are not my words. Those are the words of President Obama. And that candid statement is all you need to know about why this deal is so bad...." see full article

978 days ago | europe.newsweekIsrael braces for signing of historic Iran nuclear deal - Newsweek"...The deal, if signed, will go to US Congress which will have 60 days to review the agreement and decide whether to reject the deal, although Obama holds a veto over any rejection. Ron Gilran, vice-president at Tel Aviv-based geopolitical risk advisory The Levantine Group, says that the Congress review is the last hope for Israel's leadership to prevent any deal."It seems like Netanyahu and the people dealing with this subject in Israel will aim at Congressmen in order to somehow affect them and to change parts of the deal," he says. This is probably their last chance to impact or affect the deal in one way or another."..." see full article

"...The arena of Iranian negotiations is not the only one in which Israel's tendency to take an extreme position has obscured the justice of an underlying issue. While Iran is the threat that looms largest in the eyes of the Netanyahu government, another major one is diplomatic isolation, a multi-tentacled menace that requires a coordinated response if Israel is to defeat it. The danger is embodied by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to isolate Israel economically and culturally, but the larger risk lies with a growing perception among mass audiences that Israel deserves extra opprobrium for actions that are depicted as extraordinarily beyond the pale. Recognizing the danger of this development, the Israeli government has attacked it with guns blazing, but often in a way that leads to Israel shooting itself in the foot.One of the biggest drivers of Israel's isolation is the portrayal of Israeli actions in Gaza, where Israel has conducted large-scale military operations to prevent rocket fire against Israeli population centers multiple times over the last decade, most prominently during Operation Cast Lead 2008, Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012 and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. In each instance, Israel has battled a designated terrorist organization that locates its own positions in densely populated civilian areas. Thus, no matter how many precautions Israel takes, Palestinian casualty numbers are far higher than Israeli ones. The challenges that Israel faces in these confrontations should be self-evident, as acknowledged by people like Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey. While Israel is not perfect, it does a good job in a nearly impossible situation anytime it goes into Gaza. But it does a terrible job defending these operations...." see full article

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